Saturday, June 14, 2014

Puy Lentil Black Rice Salad

Doesn't that look fancy? I'm definitely not generally so trendy in my cooking, but that's a puy lentil, black rice, microgreens, and marigold salad. I had some lentils and rice left over from the batch of puy lentil black rice salad I'd made, and just needed some more greens. The local farmers market had a nice carton of microgreens and marigolds packaged together, so I thought I'd give them a shot.

The "normal greens" version of this salad is one of my favorite things I've made lately, and the microgreens and marigold version was excellent, too. I haven't had marigolds before, but they're a nice accent to add. Marigolds have a developing flavor that starts citrusy followed by a more floral flavor. Microgreens are apparently much more nutritious than their mature counterparts, at least as far as preliminary studies have found. Give them a try if you haven't before. I'll be keeping an eye out next time I'm at a farmers market.

Heat oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and a pinch of salt, and sauté until softened. Add mashed anchovy (if using) and sauté until fragrant. Add herbs and bay leaves and sauté until their aroma comes out. Add lentils, 1 teaspoon salt, and enough water (or chicken or vegetable stock) to cover the lentils by about an inch. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook gently for about 20 minutes, until lentils are done. Taste the lentils and add salt to taste. Pick out the bay leaves to discard, and drain the lentils.

While the lentils are cooking, or even before you start preparing the lentils, depending on how fast your rice cooker cooks (or your stovetop rice cooking), rinse, soak, and steam the black rice.

Once both lentils and rice are ready, toss together in a large bowl. You can enjoy these tossed with a vinaigrette (a basic one is described below) or with salad greens added in as well.

For the Salad:

several handfuls per serving (about 2-3 oz): salad greens, microgreens, any sort you like
1-2 cups lentil and rice mixture

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Thanks for stopping by! This blog is a journal of my explorations in dairy-, (mostly) gluten-, peanut-, tree nut-, coconut-, and various seeds-free cooking. Join me as I experiment with and improve dishes, nerd out about technique, and just try to put delicious food on the table out of an ordinary kitchen.

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